Stay and lacing for corsets



(No Model.)

WJR. MESTLER. STAY AND LAGING FOR GORSBTS, sw.

No. 601,446. Patented Mar. 29,1898.

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Attorney UNITED STATES ATnNT unica,

VILLIAM R. MESTLER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

STAY AND LACING FOR CORSETS, 86C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,446, dated March29, 1898.

Application led August 17, 1897. Serial No. 648,545. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. MEsTLnR, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stays and Lacings for Corsets, &c. andIdo hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecication, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to corsets and similar articles which areadjusted by cords or lacings, and has for its objects to provide animproved stay and a roller which is simple in construction and permitsthe use of stays at the edges of the lacing-opening Without detraetingfrom their iiexibility or interfering with the movements of the wearer;and to these and other ends it consists in certain improvementshereinafter fully described, the novel features being pointed out in theclaims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure l is a rear view of a portion of a corsetprovided with my improvements, a part of the outer covering being brokenaway; Fig. 2, a cross-sectional view on the line c of Fig. l; Fig. 3, alongitudinal sectional View through one of the compound steels, showingin dotted lines the position of the parts when the steel is bent.

Similar reference-numerals in the several iigures denote similar parts.

As the particular construction of the corset-body or other article isimmaterial as far as my present invention is concerned, I have onlyshown the proximate edges of the two side portions of a corset,(indicated by l 1,) whichareconnectedbythelacing. Arranged at the edgeof each corset-section l are the compound stays, composed of twoflexible steel strips 2 2X, each located in a separate pocket formed inthe textile covering material 3 and secured to the body-section l of thecorset, said strips extending the full length of the corset, and betweenthem are arranged the rollers 4, over which the continuous lacing cordor tape 5 passes in the manner shown in Fig. 1, so that by drawing uponthe tape the stays at the edges of the body-sections are drawn togetherevenly and equally through out their length.

The rollers 4 are each mounted upon spacing studs or pins 6, extendingbetween the strips 2 2X, and having shoulders 7 engaging the innerproximate sides of the strips to keep the latter separated or spaced therequired distance to permit the free rotation of the rollers. Thesestuds are in the present embodiment secured rigidly to the inner strip 2by having their reduced ends beyond.I the shoulder passed throughcountersunk perforations therein and upset or laterally extended intothe countersinks to produce a smooth surface, as shown in Fig. 2. Theouter strips 2 are provided with elongated slots 9, countersunk on theouter side, and the outer portions of the reduced ends of the studs areupset or spread laterally, as at l0, so that their outer portions aresubstantially iush with the outer face of the strips, said heads servingto prevent the separation of the compound stays 2 and 2X, but permittingthem to be flexed by the movements of the Wearers body, the studs thensliding in the slots in the steels 2X, as shown in Fig. 2.

This construction of lacing is particularly advantageous in that thecorset may be laced tightly Without liability of, distortion, as thecompound stays carrying the rollers at the edge maintain all the rollersin the same plane, and at the same time the rollers are permitted toturn freely, and the stays are capable of being bent, so that the wearermay bend in any direction Without interfering with the free movement ofthe rollers, and Without being injured by absolutely rigid back steels.

While it is eminently desirable that the outer side of the slots in thestrips 2 be countersunk to prevent the heads of the studs from wearingthe textile covering, this is not absolutely essential, as said headscould be upset on the outside of slots not countersunk,`

which would hold the stays and permit the necessary flexing, but theiinish would not be l as good.

It will also be understood that While the construction described isparticularly adapted for corsets it could as well be applied to glovesor to other garments or articles, and the stays could be appliedotherwise than as shown.

I claim as my inventionl. In a lacing for garments, 85o., the com- IOObination of two compound stays, each composed of a pair of iiexibleelastic strips, one strip 'of each pair having longitudinal slots, thestuds arranged between the strips having the reduced ends extendingthrough the slots, the shoulders engaging the proximate faces of thestrips and the laterally-extended heads on the ends wider than theslots, rollers arranged on the studs and the lacing extending around therollers; substantially as described.

2. A compound corset-stay consisting oi' a pair of iexible elasticstrips, one strip being provided with a series oflongitudinally-extending slots, a series of spacing-studs securedrigidly to the other strip and passing through the slots in former, eachstud having a shoulder near its end engaging the inner side of thev islotted strip and a head for engaging the outer side thereof andlacing-rollers on the studs slightly narrower than the space between theshoulders on the studs and the strip to which the studs are secured,whereby the stay may be bent and the rollers permitted to turn freely onthe studs.

3. The combination with the flexible elastic strip having aperturestherein, and the c0- operating strip having the longitudinally-extendingslots countersunk on their outer sides, of the studs having the reducedends passing through the apertures and slots in the strips and theshoulders engaging the inner proximate sides thereof, one of the ends ofthe studs being secured rigidly to one strip and the other having thetapered heads operating in the countersink of the slots, and the rollersbetween the strips and mounted loosely on the studs, substantially asdescribed.

4. A corset-stay consisting of two flexible strips, a series ofspacing-studs engaging the inner sides of the strips and limiting theirapproach, and having heads for preventing their separation, a slottedconnection between one of the strips and one end of each stud, and aseries of lacing-rollers freely rotatable on the studs between thestrips and narrower than l:the space between them, whereby the stay maybe flexed and the rollers permitted to turn freely on the studs.

WILLIAM R. MESTLER.

Witnesses:

F. F. CHURCH, G. A. RODA.

